ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses the nature and extent of the refugee threat on host-state security in Africa, by focusing on Kenya and Tanzania. It adopts an inter-disciplinary approach, with the conscious recognition of these gaps. The book examines the refugee security nexus have largely been written by scholars from the North, especially Europe and North America. It is based on empirical investigation of Burundian and Rwandese refugees in Tanzania and Somali and Sudanese refugees in Kenya. In addition to archival and internet-based research, data was collected in field interviews in Kenya and Tanzania in 2000 and 2004. In both countries the interviews were conducted with government officials, UNHCR and other aid agencies, refugees and the local population. In Kenya the location of the fieldwork was Nairobi, the Dadaab refugee camps in Northern Eastern Province, namely Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley, and former refugee-hosting areas in Mombasa.
